After the marathon that was Shenmue II, Andrew Reiner and I decided it was time to play something that didn't require quite so much long-term commitment. We wanted something that felt closer to a walk in the park, or a leisurely ride through a park, which is how we landed on Pokémon Snap. The Nintendo 64 favorite offered Pokémon fans their first look at their favorite creatures in 3D and, for our purposes, doesn't tell an elongated story about revenge.

Despite our intentions to play something a little less intense, we still want to make sure we get a photo of every Pokémon in the game. We will also be passing the sticks in order to foster some competition. At the end of every episode we will make sure to check and see who took the best photo.

Enjoy the episodes, and leave comments! We plan on reading them out loud during the episodes just like we did with our last few two-person Super Replays.

We've been wanting to do a PSP-focused episode for awhile, but were held back by a barrier we thought was insurmountable: I had to order a new battery for the handheld. Once we worked out those complicated details, however, we decided to dive into Sony's first handheld with one of its best games and follow-up with another game that probably would never appear on any PSP best of lists.

Join Andrew Reiner, me, the voice of Leo Vader, and resident Kingdom Hearts expert Kimberly Wallace as we play Birth by Sleep, talk about the series, make our predictions for the future, and try to get a date (this will make sense later, I promise).

You can find our original review of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep by heading here. As always, thanks for watching!

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games of next year, and for good reason: It’s being developed by Rockstar Games. The studio’s history is one of innovation; nearly every Rockstar game since the release of Grand Theft Auto III has been important in its own way, surpassing and redefining our expectations of what is possible in video games in terms of technology, game design, and subject matter. We take a look at five areas in which Rockstar has made, and continues to make, large waves in the games industry.

Popularizing The Sandbox Open WorldRockstar didn’t invent the 3D open world, but Grand Theft Auto III became the benchmark example for how to structure one outside of the RPG genre.

Rockstar took the traditional errand-boy mission structure and surrounded it with optional side content. You were free to tackle the storyline at your own pace, and outside of the narrative there were a variety of jobs you could take on, like taxi driving or firefighting. If structured missions weren’t your thing, exploring the world, finding collectibles, and causing mayhem was just as, if not more, fun. There was nothing else out there like Liberty City.

When Nintendo introduced Amiibo, its little plastic figurines representing an enormous library of characters, even the company seemed confused about their use. Aside from making money, the Super Smash Bros. line of Amiibo did not really accomplish much, primarily serving as a storage locker for A.I. routines. Their success lead Nintendo to push Amiibo as an initiative, something to be paired with nearly every game it releases. Since then, Nintendo has struggled with how Amiibo should be used in games, and whether it makes sense to essentially enforce scarcity for what amounts to downloadable content.

Unfortunately, with Metroid: Samus Returns on the 3DS, Nintendo has decided that Amiibo use will replace traditional unlocks, seemingly locking entire modes away behind a player's ability and desire to purchase Amiibo.

In just a few minutes we'll be doing a surprise stream of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds with a new wrinkle: we'll be playing duos, the two-player cooperative mode.

Ben Hanson and Dan Tack's longstanding PUBG rivalry culminates as they're forced to work together. Will they finally put aside their differences? Or will they murder each other immediately? Tune in at 3:30 PM Central to find out.

You can click the banner below to watch the stream on Twitch or Youtube, or just tune in here using the embedded video below.

Some gaming nights demand a deep and complex strategy game. Other times, you want to role-play a thrilling fantasy adventure. But sometimes, you’re just looking for a casual, quick game. Depending on your group, it can be wise to have a few options in your back pocket for game themes that virtually anyone can enjoy – like cats! Believe it or not, there’s a plethora of fun games about felines out there, and most offer rules and gameplay that are welcoming to families or new players, but still have enough fun concepts to appeal to veteran gamers.

Snag one of these titles for an inexpensive and charming side trek into the world of cats.

The 3DS library may have been a slow burn at first, but in the years since its initial launch, Nintendo has built a strong line-up around its most recent handheld. Though the dual-screen setup is the same as the preceding DS handheld, and the entertainment industry's flirtation with 3D technology resulted in little more than a fling, the 3DS library is full of quality titles that can't be experienced anywhere else.

The strong offerings have resulted in Nintendo once again dominating the dedicated handheld gaming market. Thanks to its successes, the 3DS hasn't gone through the massive third party exodus that the Wii U went through shortly after launch. Like most Nintendo platforms, however, that doesn't prevent many of the best games to come from Nintendo or Nintendo-exclusive properties.

If the allure of the New Nintendo 3DS has driven you to hop aboard the 3DS train, or you're just bored with your current library, check out our constantly-updated list of the best games you can play on your 3DS right now.

Six years after the game's reveal at the 2011 VGAs, Fortnite is finally hitting store shelves. Despite being labeled "Early Access" by developer/publisher Epic Games, the product on display feels very complete and worthy of discussion.

Watch Andrew Reiner, Javy Gwaltney, and me play a match while talking combat, crafting, and bold new toilet architecture.

This week brings readers a healthy dose of blogs, and three great community writing challenge responses!

Community Blogs For July 20 – July 26:

Does Not Finishing A Game Make Your Opinion Invalid?Corvo Attano asks if it's fair that he didn't think Nier: Automata was that good if he hasn't beaten it enough times. I would say that yes, the opinion is fair. If a game is too boring to go through multiple times to get to the heart of it, then that game is boring for you.

Given the strong focus on sports game modes that generate additional revenues for publishers, like Ultimate Team and Diamond Dynasty, franchise mode fans often feel like a forgotten group this console generation. EA’s NHL and FIFA series still use player acquisition and scouting systems from a generation ago, MLB The Show hasn’t made a meaningful change in the basic way the mode operates for years now, and even sports games with decent franchise modes like Madden frequently take a year or more off from introducing significant changes to the minute-to-minute experience.

One series continues to buck this trend of neglect – NBA 2K. Year in and year out, senior producer Erick Boenisch’s franchise-focused team continues to deliver innovations like player expectations/morale, trade finders, team expansion, and a conversation system that drives your interaction with your owner, staff, coaches, and players. For NBA 2K18, the team has a slew of new ideas to push the benchmark even further ahead of its competitors.

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Jun 7, 2017Updates and bug fixes OTW.

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Jun 7, 2017Updates and bug fixes OTW.

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